The highs are high and the lows are low, eh??? It’s probably the most common phrase I hear tossed around by cruising sailors and I can’t think of a better way to illustrate how true it is than the day we had two days ago.

We were having a solid day of cruising, probably one of our best in Fiji so far. Good family time while we made a seven-hour passage north, lots of interaction with the kids—some adorable creativity from them. Followed by a smooth anchoring in a quiet, pretty, deserted anchorage, sundowners with new cruising friends from Colorado (Hi, Sky Pond!), a gorgeous sunset (green flash!!) and finally, an easy dinner for the four of us.

We even said to each other,”this has been such a great day!” This was a mistake. We clearly angered the sailing gods. Again. At 7 pm, the kids were brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed when Elliott started crying loudly in the port hull. Elliott cries A LOT to express his anger or frustration, so this is not terribly alarming or unusual. But when his brother started yelling, “omg, he’s bleeding!,” that sent me running. 

I fully expected him to have knocked out a tooth, as Oliver was staring at his mouth. Not so. My darling Elliott had fallen while brushing his teeth (after his brother told him to leave the bathroom because he was hogging the sink—a daily battle they fight). He managed to impale his mouth on the head of his electric toothbrush. He had clearly tried to tug it out so all that was left hanging out in there was the actual brush head. Believe me, it was as horrifying as it sounds. I tried to tug it out, but the brush head was firmly implanted in the back, soft tissue of his cheek. 

Time to call in the big guns. “Brian!!!! Brian!!!!” “What??” “I need you here. RIGHT. NOW.” I held Elliott while he yanked it out. I still get squeamish just thinking about it. My mind was racing as I thought about gushing blood and packing a wound. Can’t call 911 or hop in the car and drive over to the local ER. We’re seven hours by boat from Denerau and Lautoka, big cities on the island where we could get medical care. We’re in an absolutely deserted area of the island. No houses, no businesses, no place to even go ashore from the anchorage. Really, just an overnight rest stop on our way north. 

Thankfully, the bleeding was minimal and stopped quickly, but the brush head left a gaping wound on the inside of his mouth. First step was getting him calmed down. (At one point, he asked me if he was going to die… cue internal tears.) We irrigated the wound with salt water, remembering that when Oliver had four firmly-planted teeth preemptively removed, our dentist ordered frequent salt water rinses to keep everything clean and let the tissue heal. Gave him children’s Tylenol. He tearfully asked if he could be in his “comfy bed and go to sleep.” He was out in minutes. 

Not so for his parents. We then spent two stressful hours getting the Iridium Go antenna working properly (not a lick of cell service at this anchorage), communicating with doctor friends in Ireland and London (conveniently morning there–thank you so much, Dr. McMillan, Kylie, Kate and Adam!) and finally, arranging for Elliott to see a doctor here in Fiji the next day, through Emergency Medical Services in Denarau. Brian had had the foresight, literally the day before, to take a picture of their number. Available 24/7, they help arrange emergency medical care, including helicopter evacuations if necessary. Clearly, we weren’t at that level of need, but we’ll be keeping their number nearby for the rest of our time in Fiji!

I spent the night waking myself up every two hours to record and monitor his heart rate and temp on the advice of Dr. McMillan. By 7 am, we were anchor up and moving three hours north to a more populated area, where Plan A was to try and see a local doctor there–but felt iffy as everything closes in Fiji on Sundays. Plan B was to get a $250 taxi ride for Elliott and I back to Denarau to see the doctor through Emergency Medical Services.

We anchored at Volivoli Beach Resort, which is cruiser-friendly, and then went ashore where every single person we encountered could not have been kinder or more helpful. They confirmed that Ra Medical Center, the local hospital, was open on Sunday, although their x-ray and dental units were closed. Then, they helped arrange a taxi to take us. We were lucky enough to have Kevin drive us. He not only took Elliott and I there, but showed us where to go, walked us in, found a nurse, and explained to her what was going on.

We saw a doctor very quickly. She determined that the wound was not dire and there was no need to go to Denarau. She referred Elliott for an x-ray and assessment by the dentist on Monday. This morning, Kevin came back to take us to the hospital again. We arrived at 8:30 am and were done by 10 am. The four x-rays of his mouth, to make sure there were no fractures, cost $32.77 FJD or about $15 USD. The visit and assessment by the dentist was free as he was underage, although the cost posted on the wall stated $2.78 FJD for exam/consult for adults. I was incredibly grateful for the care from everyone there. They were very kind to Elliott and reassuring to me.

In the end, we’re to continue with salt water rinses, monitor his temp, pain level (which today, thankfully, is minimal) and for any signs of infection, then chalk this up to another “adventure” that adds to the fabric of our trip. And to the number of grey hairs I’ve been finding much more often than I’d like.

Whenever we have a rough experience cruising, Brian and I have been trying to sit down and talk through how we did–what we’d do differently, what we did right and lessons to take away. In light of that, we had a sit-down with the boys last night and talked about not moving around the boat with anything in their mouths, including food. We talked about how we’re sailing into more remote areas and that we need to take care to avoid accidents as much as possible. We’ve also learned that if we’re having a really great day, we should probably keep that to ourselves!